Justice Amissah-Baiden
Justice Amissah-Baiden, a Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) officer, who was formerly stationed at the Brong Ahafo Regional headquarters but currently serving at the Aflao Border post, has been arraigned before a Sunyani Circuit Court on the charge of defrauding by false pretences.
He is to re-appear on July 27, 2017 for witnesses to be called to testify.
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector John Kwakye, told the court, presided over by Jojo Hagan, that the complainant Stephen Elolo, a teacher and businessman on January 25, 2016 petitioned the Director-General of Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Accra that Justice Amissah-Baiden sold a Mercedes Benz Saloon car (C180) with registration number GT 5141-12 to him at a cost of GH¢15,000 in March, 2012, but later took the car through dubious means and refused to refund his money.
He said in July, 2013 while the complainant was driving the said car on Sunyani Highway, he was stopped by the patrol team of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Service.
He was asked to report at the office at a later date for the documents to be assessed.
The complainant called Amissah-Baiden on phone to complain about his ordeal with the Customs officials.
The accused, who had been transferred to Aflao in the Volta Region, asked the complainant to drive the car to his friend, Issac Ampadu, who is with Customs at Mallam Junction in Accra to check the papers before presenting them to the Customs office in Sunyani.
Elolo obliged and took the car to Mallam Junction in a house, where he met the said Issac Ampadu, who claimed ownership of the house.
Ampadu later communicated via phone with Justice, who called Elolo and asked him to leave the car with him (Ampadu) to check the papers.
All efforts by Elolo to get the immigration officer to retrieve the car proved futile.
The suspect is also facing trial for selling another unregistered Benz saloon car to one Kwame Adjei at Hwediem in the Asutifi South District at a cost of GH¢14,000. The car, with fake documents, was also seized by Customs officials.
In addition, Justice also collected GH¢5,000 from one Michael Mensah to purchase an auction Toyota Corolla car, which was being auctioned by the Aflao Custom Division, but failed to deliver the said car.
Justice withdrew the money from his bank account at the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) and never fulfilled his part of the deal.
From Daniel Y Dayee, Sunyani